Not All That Different
by touchnotthecat
Summary: Would you love someone you knew would never truly be yours? Could you stand to see the love for another in their eyes? They say 'It is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all,' They lied. CKOC
1. A Super Dog

A/N: Just saw Superman Returns and I absolutely loved it! Wasn't Brandan Routh like the hottest thing known to man…. Oh and what, is everyone in Metropolis taking stupid pills…ALL HE DOES IS TAKE OFF HIS GLASSES! Sorry, had to vent, anyway in spite of all of that I still loved the movie. But I think I should create my own character to embody everything I believe should take place… good plan huh? Anyway hope you like her.

Disclaimer: Now don't you think if I owned Superman I would be hanging out somewhere that had something to do with the movie gawking at Brandon Routh? Of course I would but I don't so here I am instead…

_Teaser:_

"_I won't let you hurt him!" _

"_Oh yeah watch me!" Mad laughing…a man screaming. _

"_NO! STOP!" _

"_Oh yeah or what, you gonna glare me to death…Ahahahahahah! Sorry no dice!" _

"_NO MORE!" She screamed. _

_BOOM_

Chapter One:

Cassandra rifled around under her desk. She was having trouble locating the shipment order for forty pounds of cat food and if she didn't find it soon the cats would have to do with dog food for the weekend, and none of them would be happy about that.

The bell on the front door jingled happily not representing Cassandra's mood very well. It had been a long day after a trying call from her mother this morning and she wasn't in the mood for some mother wanting the perfect dog for their son that wouldn't ruin the furniture or need any training… or walking for that matter. Cassandra would always suggest that maybe a guinea pig would be a better pet but the mother always knew better and in a week the dog was back at the shelter.

"Welcome to the Pet Emporium, your local Metropolis animal shelter. What can I help you with today?" She recited the memorized welcome not bothering to stand up and look at the person.

The voice that responded was deep but kind, "Hi I am looking for a dog…that is well… super."

Cassandra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose and stood up with her eyes tightly shut trying not to bit the person's head off.

"I am sorry sir, but we do not have ANY animals that share super power in affiliation with Superman." The amount of people demanding a pet that would be able to protect them like Superman was unbelievable.

Cassandra Kenton had just moved to Metropolis and was about the only person in the city who hadn't seen Superman in the flesh and blood in front of her, sure she had seen him on news papers, magazines, the TV, everywhere but believing a two dimensional person was as amazing as every one claimed was hard to swallow.

"Oh…uh I didn't mean…I meant super as in the adjective." Cassandra looked at the person slightly surprised. He stared back at her with a slight smile.

He took her breath away. He just about the biggest eyes known to man and boy were they blue. He was tall around 6'3" – 6'4". He had jet-black hair and was built like a brick wall. He had on glasses and was wearing a brown three-piece suit that must have been very warm on the August day. He had an overcoat over one arm and a brief case in the other hand. He continued to look at Cassandra when she realised that she hadn't said anything in quite a while.

After swallowing a few times she looked back at him. "Oh," Was all that came out of her mouth. '_OH! OH! Is that all you have to say_?' Her brain kept yelling at her but that didn't seem to make her mouth want to work any more then it already did.

"Um, yes." He was starting to look rather uncomfortable under Cassandra's unwavering gaze.

"Oh right…a dog." She shook her head, "We have those," He gave her a slightly nervous smile and she seemed to remember herself again.

"Good,"

She nodded hypnotized by his smile. "Right, uh why don't you come into the back with me and I can show you the dogs we have in right now."

He nodded and went to follow her. "Oh you can leave your brief case and coat under my desk."

"Thank you," He went to put them down and Cassandra shot a gaze at her self in the mirror across the room from them and she was horrified to find that she was wearing the standard issue light blue smock that was embroidered with '_Pet Emporium'_. She was still wearing her torta shell reading glasses, her hair was in a bun that was falling apart and looking rather limp and she had a pen stuck in it.

"Uh are you okay? You look a little pale."

Cassandra's head swivelled back to the man.

"Oh sorry I am fine. Come with me." She led him in to the back of the store where the dog kennels were.

"Wow, you sure do have a lot of dogs."

"Yeah, a lot of people move to the city and there isn't a lot of room in their new apartment, and the dog seems to go before grandpa." He smiled more at her horrible attempt at humour. She silently screamed at her stupidity.

"Yes I suppose they do."

"Um, What kind of dog are you looking for Mr…?"

He looked at her, "Oh Clark, Clark Kent." He offered her a hand she took it smiling.

"Cassandra Kenton same initials, if your last name is a K."

"Yeah it is…small world."

"Yeah," He turned back to the dogs. Cassandra was fairly certain he must think she was the craziest person in the history of man but that was unavoidable it seemed now. "What's this one's name?"

She looked at the dog he was pointing at. It was a chocolate lab that was around one year old. Most people over looked him for the newer puppies, Cassandra would have adopted him but with two cats and a three-room apartment it wasn't the most logical choice.

"Oh that's Comet, he is one year old, neutered all ready, great temperament, likes children, hates cats, fully house trained…for the most part," He looked at her. She shrugged, "No bodies perfect."

He smiled at her and she was shocked her legs didn't give way right there and then.

"He's perfect," He said standing up. Cassandra smiled.

"Great, come with me and we will do the paper work." They went back through to the front of the store. "Comet has been looking for a good home for ages," Kent nodded, "Here, just fill out this, the actual adoption will be around thirty dollars." He looked up at her.

"Thirty? What ever happened to go to the pound and adopt a pet for free?"

She shrugged, "Everyone has to make a buck," Her tone reflected her feelings towards the matter. Big Al, the man who owned the chain was only interested in profits not the animals, Cassandra's main interest was in the animal. "Or so it would seem, it is a pity because a lot more animals would find homes if it didn't cost anything."

"I can imagine." He said still scribbling in his sheet. "There you go."

"Great, you have a twenty-four hour waiting period. We groom the animal before we release them and give a full check up, and it also gives the adopter some time to pet proof their home."

He nodded, "Great well I will be seeing you tomorrow then," He smiled at her again, taking back his coat and brief case.

"Guess so," With that he left the store. Cassandra couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing him tomorrow and then her happy little bubble was brutally burst when she realised that tomorrow was her first day off. She wouldn't see him tomorrow, or ever again maybe.

It was like the whole foundation of the store shook under her feet. She ran around her desk and out onto the street. It was fairly quiet at four thirty in the afternoon. She looked both ways and saw him standing a few feet away from the store with his back to her in the middle of a step or so it seemed.

She went to run over to him but her turned around suddenly and Cassandra slammed in to his chest face first. '_What a chest_!' was all that ran through her mind. He looked down at her.

"Oh sorry," He stuttered. He seemed rather shy for someone as obviously good-looking as he was. Like he was out of his element or something.

"Uh I was just wondering… I mean hoping…no wondering if you would maybe like to get a coffee tomorrow, I mean I don't work tomorrow so I won't be in and you won't see me and… Yeah." He stared at her for a few minutes as if trying to absorb what she had said rather quickly. Cassandra could feel her self-getting rather red at his hesitation. "I mean… if you don't want to that is okay, I am sure you are probably busy anyway… yeah so I am going to slink back into the store with my tail firmly between my leg and hope the earth opens up and eats me now." She turned to go.

"I would love to." Was the hurried response. Cassandra turned around to look at him again. It looked like he was holding in a breath.

"Really?"

"Yeah," She smiled and he smiled back.

"Great," She rifled through the pockets of her smock and found a pad and pen. She scribbled her name and number on it and the name of her favourite café. She tore of the piece and handed it to him. "Call me if anything changes, I will meet you tomorrow at around three?"

"Sounds great." He answered staring at the piece of paper.

"Yes, well until then." She said slowly walking backwards realising that she was supposed to be working. He looked at her.

"Yeah till then."

"Great!" She didn't seem able to stop talking. That was when she walked into the fire hydrant. It hit the back of her legs making her stumble and fall backwards. She steadied her self as he moved to help her, "I am fine…fine,"

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah," She smiled and retreated into the safety of the store before she embarrassed her self any more then she already had.


	2. First Date

A/N: Wow, thanks for the outpouring of support from reviewers! Oh and thanks for accepting Cassandra so much I like her and I think she is good across from Clark. Anyway here is my next chapter. Oh and I should say that this takes place after Superman

Returns.

Chapter Two: 

Clark stared at the bright screen of his computer. An article had never been harder to write. He couldn't stop from looking at the clock on his desk. The minute hand seemed to have stopped working.

'_Maybe it has? What if it is past three? I can't be late!' _Clark stood up and looked over his cubicle wall. He looked down at Jimmy Olsen.

"Jimmy! What's the time?" Jimmy looked at Clark then at his watch.

"Two thirty Mr. Kent, Why?" Jimmy stood up as well. Clark looked back at his clock; it was actually a few minutes fast. He slumped back into his seat.

"I am meeting someone at three." Jimmy crossed his arms on top of the cubicle divider.

"Oh? A girl?" Clark looked up at Jimmy who had on a sly grin.

"Uh…." Clark felt like his tie was tightening on it's own. Jimmy's grin grew.

"Well, Mr. Kent!"

"Mr. Kent what?" Clark and Jimmy looked up at Lois Lane standing beside them looking at them.

"Lois!" Clark stood up as if he had lost complete control of his own body.

"Mr. Kent what Jimmy?"

"Mr. Kent has a date!" Jimmy said still smiling like a loon.

"You do?" said Lois looking rather surprised.

"Well… uh not a date per say…just…." Clark sunk back into his chair.

"Well good for you Clark I can't wait to meet her some day. Can I borrow your white out?" She asked pointing to the white out pen.

"Sure," Clark handed her the white out and watched her walk off. It was hard to deal with Lois; he had given up on her years ago. She was only interested in Superman…and Richard of course… _not_ Clark Kent.

"You better get going Mr. Kent, if you wanna make your date, I heard on the radio traffic was little busy."

"Thanks Jimmy." Clark stood up and picked up his coat and walked off, until at the elevator he realised he had forgotten his brief case and jogged back to get it.

"Good luck Mr. Kent."

"Thanks Jimmy," said Clark feeling his face grow hot, you would think it was a miracle he had a date from everyone's reaction. Well it was sort of true; he didn't have much of a social life.

As he walked out on to the street to the curb he hailed a cab. "Do you know this café?" He asked the driver. The driver took the piece of paper and looked at it for a few seconds.

"Yeah, course, have you there in a jiffy."

"Great thanks." Clark leaned back and looked out the window.

He knew the date… or whatever it was, was a forgone conclusion. He wouldn't actually be able to get truly close to Cassandra but it would be nice to have some human contact outside of Jimmy and Lois.

Actually Clark couldn't believe that a girl like Cassandra actually wanted to go out with him. When she had literally run into him he was about to turn back and go ask her, she beat him to the punch.

She was amazing. She had big brown eyes that were a very light hazel colour; they complemented her blonde hair that was in a messy bun. She was around 5'9"- 5"10 so he didn't completely tower over her like most girls. She was very pretty…it was hard to judge in the smock really.

The cab stopped outside a two-story building. "Here ya go sir, that will be twenty dollars and fifteen cents." Clark threw him a twenty and a five. "Thank you sir."

"Right, thanks," Clark got out the cab and looked at the building. He walking into the café and looked around. It was a nice place, bright, not like every other coffee shop that was bathed in darkness. He looked at the expansive counter that was covered in desserts.

"What can I get you sir?" Asked a man appearing from behind the counter.

"Oh uh nothing right now, I am meeting someone."

"Oh, CASS!" Clark jumped at the loud remark.

"Mmm," He turned at the female voice. Cassandra was standing behind him. "Oh Clark hi!" She said brightly.

It was his turn to be shocked into silence. He just stared at her. Without the smock she was positively gorgeous. She was wearing a white pleated skirt that had on small black spots. Her shirt was a pale pink; it was a halter-top that gathered around the bust. She was wearing black bobble earrings and her hair was in a ponytail, she was also wearing glasses that had thin black frames. She was smiling brightly at him but the smile faltered slightly at his expression. He realised his mouth was open.

He closed it quickly and swallowed, suddenly his mouth was very dry. "Oh hello," He managed, "Uh…."

She smiled brightly, "Call me Cassie, only my mother calls me Cassandra."

He nodded, "Right, Cassie."

"Wanna grab a seat?"

"Sure." They made their way through the coffee shop to a small table and two stuffed chairs. Cassie sat down and stared up at Clark who slowly sank into his chair. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Obviously uncomfortable under his unwavering stare she looked around the café.

"Oh uh you look amazing." Clark managed trying his best to get a hold of him self. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad your self." He shook his head and looked at the table, "Good day?" She asked.

He shrugged, "Nothing exciting."

She nodded and a silence fell between them that wasn't entirely comfortable.

Clark had to say something, "So have you always lived in the city?"

She looked at him and shook her head, "No, actually I have only been here a week."

"Oh, where are you from?"

"Little Rock, Arkansas," She nodded remembering her home, "It is a lot different in the city, are you from here originally."

"No," He said trying not to smile at the truth behind the answer.

"Oh, where do you come from?"

'_The planet krypton_.' "Smallville, it's up state." She stared at him. "What?"

"No way!"

"Uh yeah."

"My uncle lives there, Mr Jefferson."

"Oh yeah he owns a hardware store." She smiled and nodded.

"Small world." She said quietly.

"You have no idea," He said under his breath. She looked at him.

"Hmmm?"

"Oh nothing."

"Right." She smiled at him, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Yeah I would."


	3. Phone Lines

Chapter Three:

Cassie closed the door to her apartment behind her and locked it only to lean against it and let out a sigh of pure and utter contentment. She closed her eyes as if trying to savour the moment.

The late lunch meeting with Clark and been amazing. He was one of the nicest guys Cassie had met in her entire life. After a few minutes they seemed to find their stride in the conversation.

It turned out that he knew her cousin Jimmy Olsen and they worked together. Clark told her about his writing for the Daily Planet. The first thing Cassie did on the way home was buy a copy from the first newspaper stand she saw. He actually had an article in the paper; it was about the demolition of an old hotel from the early twenties on the outskirts of the city for a mall to go up. It was obvious from his writing he was against the idea.

Cassie had read the article on the way home but stopped half way after hitting a lamppost and walking into a storefront. She dropped her handbag and shrugged off her coat and slouched into a comfy armchair. She still had the paper and opened it back to the page of Clark's article. Just as she was starting to read the paper the phone rang. Cassie reached over the chair and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cass? What cha up too? I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me…. I am sooo bored."

She rolled her eyes… it was Jimmy. "Not really Jimmy,"

"Oh… why you aren't doing something else are you?"

She scowled, "Yes as a matter of fact I am doing something, I am reading the paper." She had to break there because Jimmy burst out laughing.

"Seriously, a new a new action movie just came out… I heard the special effects are really cool."

She tried to stifle a scream the best she could, "Seriously Jimmy, I am reading the paper, I have had a busy day and just want to relax."

"Oh yeah what did you do?"

"I met someone."

"Oh yes extremely tiring." She rolled her eyes at her cousin's lack of thoughtfulness.

"I also had about ten pounds of paper work faxed to me by Big Al, I have doing it since around five this morning and I am not fully finished yet."

"Well you shouldn't have gone out with you friend then huh? Auntie Jean would say it was irresponsible."

"ERR! Jimmy, my mum thinks everything I do is irresponsible."

"Yes well it is, anyway… so who did you meet? A girlfriend of yours who is sexy and single and dying to meet me?"

It was Cassie's turn to laugh, "Ha hardly, no I met _someone_."

"Who?"

"_Someone_!"

"WHO!"

Cassie took a deep breath, "Subtly escapes you Jimmy."

"D'uh, now who did you meet?"

"A guy,"

"Oh? An upstanding citizen I hope,"

"You know him actually, Clark Kent." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Jimmy?"

"That is so weird, I saw him leave for his date and his date was you? Small world."

"That is like the fifth time someone has said that to me in the last two days."

"What 'I saw him leave for his date'?"

"No, 'small world' you idiot." The phone beeped, "Just a sec I have a call on the other line,"

"Kay,"

She pushed the button on the base of the phone and put it back to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Cassie?" Her heart practically stopped it was fluttering so much at Clark's voice. She sat up and actually looked at her self in the mirror until she realised he couldn't see her.

"_Hi_…" She cleared her throat as her voice only came out in a squeak, "Hi Clark?"

"Yeah, are you alright,"

"Oh yeah I just swallowed some spit the wrong way,"

"Oh…" '_Am I talking to him about spit_?' "Uh anyway I was wondering if you would maybe like to go out to dinner tomorrow?"

"Oh I would love to, where would you like to go?"

"Well there is this great Italian place on-

He was interrupted by Cassie's cell phone which was ringing madly on the coffee table in front of her. "What's that?"

"Oh just my cell."

"Shouldn't you answer it?"

"No," She said calmly, "Anyway it is probably only my mum, I will call her back, she won't mind."

"Oh if you are sure then." The phone was still ringing, Cassie stared at it praying it would stop ringing but it didn't.

"Okay sorry I will only be a sec."

"No problem," Clark said chuckling slightly.

Cassie put her phone down and answered her cell, "Hey mum I have to call you back." She went to hang up but her mother spoke before she had the chance.

"Is that all I get? I don't hear from you for two days and all you have to say is I will call you back?"

"Look mum I have a guy on my home phone and-

"Oh so what boys are more important than your mother?" '_Depends how hot they are_…'

"No mum, just a sec I will end the call with him and then talk to you okay?"

"Sounds like a plan."

_'No, "oh don't worry about me dear, your future happiness depends on this call," just "sounds like a plan_."'

Cassie put her cell down and reached for her home phone, "Hi Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh well it seems my mum does mind… so is it okay if I call you back, I will only be a few minutes."

"No problem I understand."

"Thanks, you're a life saver." Cassie said smiling brightly.

"You have no idea."

"What?"

"Nothing," With that they both hung up and Cassie picked up the phone.

"Mum?"

"Yes,"

"I am back."

"Oh good so who is this boy and do you think there is a future." Cassie rolled her eyes at the same old conversation.

"Not anymore because a certain someone made me hang up."

* * *

Cassie stretched after hanging up her cell. Instead of a few minutes she had been on the phone to her mother for two hours. After that conversation had finally ended she called Clark back. They had arranged that Cassie would meet Clark at his office and they would head over to the restaurant from there. 

Cassie loved talking to Clark; they had spoken for about an hour about everything and nothing. She had forgotten how wonderful it was to have someone who made your world light up.

As Cassie stood up from her desk that was littered with the paperwork she had been doing for the past two hours she noticed the receiver was off the hook of her home phone. She clunked it down and turned around to go get ready for bed. After getting in her jim jams, and in the middle of brushing her teeth the phone rang.

Cassie walked through and picked it up. "Hewo?"

"Cassie."

She swallowed her toothpaste, "Jimmy? It's nine o'clock, I have to be up at six tomorrow for work."

"I was on hold for five hours only to be hung up on in the end…. what do you have to say for yourself?"


	4. The Daily Planet

Chapter Four

A pale hand rested on the armrest of the small private plane drumming against the cool wood. The man sitting in the chair looked at the dog at his feet. The animal looked up at its new master. The man chuckled slightly looking at the raggedy animal, he was fairly sure he didn't look much better himself.

He got out of the seat and headed to the cockpit. "How much longer pilot?"

"Four hours until Metropolis sir."

"I want to change course, we are going to Switzerland instead."

"Switzerland sir? I can't do that, I have to alert the flight controllers I am going into international airspace and flying over the proper countries it can't-

The pilot stopped talking when he saw the look on his new bosses face, "Uh…that will be twenty hours sir."

"Good, I am going for a nap."

* * *

After getting out of the cab Cassie looked down at her self to make sure she looked okay. She was wearing one of her all time favourite dresses. It was white with a tee shirt style top, a thick black band around her waist and a voluminous skirt that ended at her knee. She had on a black shrug and had a black clutch bag. Her hair was out and brushed all to one side.

She walked across the sidewalk and into the Daily Planet Buildings lobby. She looked around her at the amazing art deco style. The architecture was beautiful. It was obvious the building had survived the twenties only to be refurbished by a very talented architect and interior designer. Cassie had always had an eye for architecture and was hoping to get a job at one of the major firms in the city.

She looked around the many people filling the lobby and saw no sign of Clark, but she did recognize one face. "Jimmy!" She ran over to her cousin.

He turned around, with the parcel he had just signed for in his hands. He looked at her and then turned, heading to the elevators.

"Oh come on Jimmy, I have said I was sorry, I just sorta forgot you were on the line. I mean it isn't my fault you didn't give up after the first half hour." Jimmy looked at her as she walked beside him to the elevators.

"I am sorry if I had a little more faith in my cousin." He pushed the button and tried to ignore her.

"Oh come on, I will make you my famous brownies…"

Jimmy looked at Cassie, "With walnuts instead of almonds."

"Anything you want Jimmy."

He smiled, "Consider yourself forgiven." The doors of the elevator opened and Jimmy got in.

"Have you seen Clark?" Cassie asked quickly.

"Oh yeah he told me to tell you if I saw you that he is going to be a few minutes and that you are to come up to our floor." The doors of the elevator closed.

"Jimmy!" Cassie yelled hitting the doors that started to open again. Jimmy was standing on the inside of the elevator with his hand on a button on the panel. Cassie got in and glared at him. "Thanks Jimmy."

* * *

"Yes I know it is hard to get an appointment, that is why I am talking to you…. Monday? Really? Great see his majesty then." Lois hung up the phone feeling very pleased with herself. She looked over her desk at the bustling office.

Jimmy came over and stood beside her desk, "Did you get that meeting with the Prince, Miss Lane?"

"'Course I did Jimmy, did you get those pictures of him on the Rivera for me?"

"Of course Miss Lane." Jimmy handed over a pale folder, Lois flicked through the pictures.

"Brilliant, you never cease to amaze me these will go brilliantly with my piece." Something caught Lois attention from the corner of her eye.

It was a girl, she was blonde, wearing a white dress, she was tall, slim and simply put beautiful. She was standing beside Clark Kent's desk; She was leaning over his shoulder reading something he was showing her.

"Who's that with Clark?"

Jimmy looked over his shoulder, they were laughing at something now. "Oh her, that is my cousin, Cassandra Kenton, she and Clark have been out once or twice, don't know for sure, they are about to go to dinner I think."

Lois nodded watching the two of them. She couldn't help but notice the differences between herself and this Cassandra. She was blonde, tall… it kind of surprised Lois. '_And here I was thinking he had a crush on me. Guess I didn't know his type as well as I had thought._'

It made Lois feel strange watching Clark with another woman. He never brought a girl to any of the office parties or spoke of any. She stood up suddenly.

"I am going to go introduce my self." She said, Jimmy just stared at her.

"Oh… uh okay." Jimmy watched Lois walk across the office wondering about the sudden interest.

"Hi, I am Lois Lane," She said brightly offering her hand.

It looked like she had caught the girl slightly off guard especially because Clark had been in mid sentence when Lois had spoken.

"Oh hi, I am Cassandra Kenton… but everyone calls me Cassie." Cassie shook Lois's hand.

Clark stood up at Lois's sudden appearance. "Lois…hi!" Cassie and Lois both looked at Clark who looked from Lois to Cassie before sitting down again. Cassie gave him a strange looked before distracted by Lois.

"So Cassie, have you always been in the city or are you new?"

"I just moved here a few weeks ago."

"Oh? And how do you like it?"

"I really like the city." She said nodding.

"That is good, how long have you known Clark?" Cassie got the impression she was under interrogation and from the look on Clark's face this wasn't the normal Lois Lane.

"Uh we just meet a few days ago."

Lois started nodding in an alarming way, "Oh hope he is treating you well."

Cassie and Clark just stared at her, Lois seemed to have lost all control of her mouth, but luckily Richard who walked up to the three of them saved her.

"Hi hun," He said kissing Lois on the cheek.

"Oh hi," She said not taking her eyes off Cassie.

"Who is this young lady?"

"Oh uh Richard, this is Cassandra Kenton, a _friend_ of Clark's." Lois said with a slightly scary look on her face.

"Ah, nice to meet you Cassandra."

"Call me Cassie," She shook his hand as well.

"Well can't talk now just though I would come over and say hello to my beloved, we should have you two over for dinner one night." Richard said brightly, "Get to know you Cassie." Clark, Cassie and Lois all looked at him. "What?" He asked.

"Uh we better be going or we are going to miss our reservations." Cassie said smiling at Clark.

He furrowed his brow. "We don't have reservations." She gave him a pleading look, "Oh right _those_ reservations." He stood up and grabbed his coat.

"Lois, Richard," He said nodding at both of them.

"Nice to meet you both," Cassie said brightly to the both of them.

"Right back at cha." Lois said brightly, Cassie gave her a strange look before she and Clark walked off to the elevators. Lois turned on Richard.

"Dinner? Dinner? We can't have them over for dinner!" Lois said in a hard whisper.

He looked at Lois, "Oh why not?"

"Because…"

"Because why?"

"We don't even know Clark, let alone this Cassie. She could be a serial murderer and you want to invite her into our home with our son!" Richard looked over Lois's shoulder at Cassie who was standing talking to Clark, they were laughing and she teasingly hit shoulder him in the shoulder, he did the same accidentally knocking her over. Richard looked back at Lois as Clark helped Cassie up.

"I don't think she is much of a threat and I think we should make an effort to become friends with Clark, he doesn't seem to have many."

Lois looked at the elevator to see Clark dusting Cassie off, she was laughing hysterically and Clark looked like he wanted the Earth to open up and swallow him. Something about the scene made Lois feel strange.

"I suppose,"

"Good then we are decided, I will talk to Clark about it tomorrow."


	5. The Dinner Date

Chapter Five

Cassie sat alone at the table in the restaurant; Clark had gone to pay for the bill. The events that had taken place in the Daily Planet Building kept playing over and over in her head.

She was sure she was wrong but it felt like Lois Lane wanted to throw her out of a window, and here everyone was telling her how wonderful the female reporter was. Well Cassie didn't think she was very nice, she was down right mean. Well that wasn't true, but she wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy.

"Are you ready to go?" She looked up to see Clark standing beside her.

"Oh yes." He helped her out of the seat and they left the restaurant.

Clark's behaviour around Lois was another thing that concerned Cassie. He seemed so flustered around her like he had a crush on her or something. Cassie was suddenly aware that he was holding her hand and a wave of possessiveness washed over her. It was stupid they had only been out on two dates but she couldn't help her self she really liked him.

"Are you alright?" He asked suddenly looking down at her.

"Oh… yes why?"

"Well, I don't know you just seem kind of… quiet." She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, I am not meaning to." He nodded and they continued to walk down the sidewalk to the taxi line. "Oh um, what are we going to do about dinner with Richard and Lois?"

"Oh uh… I hadn't really thought about that since it happened."

"I mean it would be kinda of strange to go on a third date with your friends…doesn't it seem kind of…fast." He looked at her, and her eyes widened. "I mean, I don't mean that I don't want to go on a third date…. I mean I am not fast or anything …I mean…"

He laughed, "I know what you mean,"

"You do?" Cassie asked looking at him, she wasn't sure she knew what she meant.

"Yes, I'll talk to Richard…maybe postpone it a couple of weeks, by then we will have had more dates."

Cassie looked from the cab she was about to get into to Clark, "We will?"

"Of course," He said quietly. Cassie sank into the cab's back seat, she swallowed hard trying to take her eyes off his blue eyes…it was a hard task.

"Oh good," Was all she could manage.

"Good night,"

"Good night, thank you for the wonderful night Clark," She replied back.

"My pleasure," He closed the cab door and the driver started to slowly drive out of the lane.

"Where to miss?"

"Uh…Uh, just a sec." She opened the car door of the cab and got out as the driver screeched on the breaks. She got out, Clark was just about to turn away from the line up when he saw Cassie get out of the cab.

"Is everything okay?" He asked looking a little worried. Cassie nodded and ran over to him with a smile on her face. She stopped about three inches away from him. Barely able to comprehend what she was about to do Cassie raised herself up a little to be level with Clark; he was just staring at her. And that was when she kissed him. She had both her hands on his chest; He slowly put both his hands on her sides.

Slowly she pulled back and looked him in the eyes, '_Man they are blue_,'. "Night Clark,"

He nodded…he actually nodded! "Night Cassie."

With that she slowly turned and got in the cab and drove away leaving Clark with a smile on his face.

* * *

When Clark finally got in his apartment he dropped his coat on the floor and locked the door and stood in his entranceway staring into space. This was bad…very bad. He couldn't let himself fall for this girl…Cassie.

She obviously liked him, or at least he thought she liked him, he knew he like her… a _lot_! What was the point in taking this farther if there was no future? Eventually Cassie would realise that he disappeared whenever there was a crisis, and most likely think him a coward like everyone else did, she could never know the truth.

He already cared about her too much to put her in that kind of danger. He walked through his apartment and looked out the window onto the cityscape. He picked up his phone and speed dialled home.

"Hello Clark Residence,"

"Ma?"

"Clark?"

"Yeah,"

"Why Clark how nice to hear from you, how are you anything new and exciting in _your_ life?" Clark knew from the tone in his mother's voice when she said '_your_' she meant excluding anything Superman did.

"Actually…"

"Well, I think it should be up to this Cassandra. It is her happiness as well Clark."

"But what if something happened to her? I could never live with my self if she got hurt."

"There is a chance in every relationship of getting hurt, Clark."

"Yeah, but most relationships don't have the danger of death."

His mother chuckled, "Look Clark, you have only been out twice, I don't think you should worry about this sort of thing just yet."

"But-

"But nothing Clark, let things take their course, in the end if it comes to making decisions I am sure you will make the right one."

"Thanks Ma,"

"Anytime son,"

"Love you Ma,"

"Love you Clark."

With that Clark hung up the phone. After dragging his hand over his face he got up and went to get ready for bed.


	6. Realisation

A/N: Hope you liked the last chapter, and yeah I know the fluff factor went up a little but bare with me here, I have no intention of turning this into fluff mania I promise, although there may be slight fluff emergence…. okay I have officially used the word 'fluff' once to many, lol, hope you like the next chapter!

Chapter Six

Cassie ran down the sidewalk barely missing the other pedestrians as she ran to the front of the Daily Planet building.

She and Clark had been dating for the past three weeks and last few weeks and been heavenly…except, well occasionally Clark would simply disappear, or he wouldn't be able to make a date or the phone line they had been talk on would go dead even though it sounded more like he had hung up the phone suddenly.

None of this worried Cassie greatly, it was just the bad that came with the really, really, really good!

"CLARK!" Clark stopped from getting in the cab when he heard Cassie's voice. She continued to run until she slammed right into his chest, throwing her arms around his neck. He returned the sudden embrace and smiled at her.

"What's up?" He asked laughing slightly.

"I got the job!" She squealed happily. He looked down at her for a few seconds before picking her up and twirling her around. Cassie had applied to become a part of a major architecture firm in the city and had waited on tender hooks for the past three days to hear back from them. Providing she came in to meet the senior partners of the firm the woman in human recourses said there was an excellent chance she would get the job.

"No way!"

"WAY!"

After he put her down he smiled at her, "We have to celebrate,"

The smile faltered on Cassie's face, "Celebration can happen tomorrow."

He looked at her, "Why not tonight?"

"We have to go to Richards and Lois's tonight remember?"

A look of recognition dawned on Clark's face, "Oh right," The two of them had been quietly dreading the night for their own reason's. "Well, anyway we can do something different tomorrow kay?"

Cassie nodded, and then remembered the time, "Oh crap, I have to go home and get ready for dinner tonight,"

She got in the cab Clark was about to get in, "I'll come over and we can leave from your place kay?"

He smiled, "Kay," They shared a brief kiss before Cassie left Clark on the sidewalk cab-less.

* * *

Cassie walked into the living room of her apartment, she was towelling her hair dry and she searched for her slippers and nail file.

"Damn it!" She whispered to herself as she stepped on the TV remote. The TV flicked on to CNN as she looked under the couch. She couldn't be late.

"_Oh my god it looks like it is going to blow_!" Cassie looked up at the TV at the seriousness of the reporter's voice. "_Oh my god, John we gotta get out of here_!" The reporter yelled at his cameraman who was catching shaky images of a nuclear facility in Texas or that was what the screen read.

Cassie sank onto her coach mesmerized by the possibility of the imminent deviation threatening the area.

"_Oh my god, look John_!" The Cameraman's camera flashed to the sky where you could just make out the blurry image of a red and blue blur speeding towards the plant. Cassie by this time was totally transfixed and had dropped her hair towel and her hair was dripping on her new couch and her towelling robe around her felt slightly itchy. "_Holy beep it's Superman_!"

Cassie stared as the figure disappeared inside the building. A loud beeping of the alarm sounded from the inside, from the clock counting down in the corner of the screen they had five minutes left to get out of there. The clock was still counting down.

Cassie stood up as it reached zero her hand over her mouth. But nothing happened. Instead of an enormous explosion nothing happened. Cassie looked at the clock, there were five milliseconds left on the clock. Cassie sank back onto the couch and let a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding in.

The reporters were nattering on about Superman, "_Here he is the man of steel, I will just see if I can get a word with him, Superman! Superman!"_ Cassie bent down and picked up her towel again. She shook it out and started to dry her hair again throwing the towel over her head. "_Superman, how did you manage to save the plant_?"

"_Oh you know, same old tricks_!" Was the reply that made Cassie's very heart stop. She couldn't believe it. She sat up again letting the towel fall to the ground once more. The camera was pointed at the cameraman who was talking.

"_How did you know the plant was in danger_?" The camera swivelled around to look at Superman and Cassie found herself standing up suddenly.

It was him, but it couldn't be. Sure his hair was parted on the other side and almost slightly shorter it seemed, he had a curl in the middle of his forehead and his glasses were gone but it was certain.

"_A little birdie told me_," He winked at the camera before taking off again. White spots started to appear before Cassie's eyes. The Reporters words were replaced with a loud buzzing in her ears. That was until she passed out.

* * *

The man got off the plane and stretched his arms. The small dog ran off the plane and took off into the distance before turning around and coming back to his heel.

"Good Boy," He said quietly. He looked at the pilot who was standing in the door of the plane. "Is my car here?"

"Uh…yes sir, just around the front of hanger." Lex nodded and started walking towards the entrance to the hanger.

He felt better after cleaning up and putting on a new suit. The dog trotted beside him faithfully. He got in the back of the limo.

"CERN please, I have a very important meeting to make."

Lex had found out that CERN was the largest scientific research centre in the world and that was where he was intending to find out how to stop Superman.

The drive was long but it was worth it when they finally reached their destination. He got out and started towards the building. He made sure the black wig was on properly before entering the entranceway.

"Hello, I am here for a meeting with Meester Von Baron." He said in a thick Russian accent.

"May I know you name please sir?" The receptionist asked.

"Of course I am Michael von Lipshen, he is expecting me."

"Just a moment please," The woman typed madly into a computer before looking back at Lex, "Of course Mr. Von Lipshen, down the main atrium and then down the Mission corridor, there is an elevator seventh floor. Enjoy your visit to CERN!"

"I vill, I vill," He said walking away.


	7. After Math

A/N: I am glad everyone likes the fact that Cassie realised Clark was Superman, oh and by the way to _hawk_ I am sorry that you think I have created a 'player-like' superman and you think Cassie is a Mary Sue. I am a little surprised though that you read all of the six chapters if it is so awful anyway I hope you like my next chapter to everyone else.

Chapter Seven

Cassie's hand shook as she clicked on to Google. She quickly searched 'Superman' and then went to images. Multiple pictures of him popped up. She minimized the screen and started another search of Clark Kent, there weren't as many results as a matter of fact there were about two pages, she scrolled down and clicked on a picture of Clark in his home town, she put it beside the picture of Superman picking up a truck that had run over a man and maximized his face.

She stared at the screen her mouth slightly open, she couldn't believe it… it wasn't possible, it just wasn't. Clark just couldn't be Superman. She turned off her computer and stood up.

Her head still hurt from passing out on her wood flooring but the ache was slowly going away. She picked up the phone and called Jimmy.

"Hi Jimmy Olsen at the Daily Planet,"

"Hey Jimmy…"

"Cassie? What's the matter you sound all…funny."

"Yeah I am not feeling too well, is Clark there?"

"Uh no he just went out to investigate a source, he should be back in an hour or so, He said he would be ready for your dinner with Lois and Richard though."

Cassie was secretly quite relieved that Clark wasn't there, she had no idea what she would say to him, he wasn't just Clark any more he was the saviour of the modern world. "Okay uh Jimmy, could you tell him for me I am not feeling to well, and I need to take a rain check?"

"Oh yeah I will tell him, want me to come over later?"

"No but thanks Jimmy,"

"Alright, talk to you later Cass,"

"Bye Jim," She hung up her phone and sat down on her coach. She looked down at her self; she was still in her towelling robe.

She got up and went into her bed room; she threw on a pair of grey sweat pants and a white racer back tank top. She came through and started to braid her hair over her shoulder loosely. Her head was spinning.

It was so...shocking. Clark was so un-Superman. He was slightly bumbling and cute and he wore glasses and Superman was well…a _super_ man, nothing was wrong with him. It made Cassie feel uncomfortable.

Superman was perfect…in every way and Cassie was just Cassie, she was clumsy and had bad spelling, and was…well… human. And so was Clark until she found out, it was like everything she knew about him shattered.

Another thing hit her, how come no one else knew? Was it really that hard to figure out? It made her feel even more strange that Cassie had worked it out. There were people who knew Superman more so then Cassie…

'_Like Lois Lane, she was supposed to be the love of Superman's_…' Cassie froze; Lois Lane was the love of Superman's life. But Superman was Clark Kent so was Clark in love with Lois?

Cassie felt everything started to swirl again. Was that why Clark was acting so funny around Lois? Cassie felt like she was being cheated of something, she was fairly certain that Clark wouldn't cheat on anyone let alone her but why was he with her if he loved Lois. Lois did have Richard now maybe it was lack of options that made Clark look else where.

'_The else where being me_,' Cassie felt tears stinging the back of her eyes. She really liked Clark and now she didn't know what to think. Did he genuinely like her or was he trying to forget Lois.

Cassie felt a headache coming on; she couldn't deal with all this right about now. She stood up and went back through to her bedroom; she had to have a nap.

* * *

The buzzer rang and Cassie sat up in bed. One of her cats, Boo, jumped down from her place on Cassie's bed. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked through to the living room.

She pressed the button that let her talk down through the com system in her building.

"Hello?"

"Hi Cassie, its Clark,"

Cassie's heart stopped, she felt her mouth moving soundlessly, "Clark?...I…"

"Are you alright Cassie? I got Jimmy's message and was worried, Lois and Richard said everything was fine and we could meet next week."

At first Cassie's heart swelled when she heard he was worried but it shrunk to below microscopic size when he mentioned Lois and she remembered everything, "Clark why don't you come up?"

"Oh, uh, okay…"

"Just a second, I will buzz you up." She pressed the button and the dull buzz that sounded the door opening.

She stepped back and opened the lock on the door. She didn't know what she was going to do, should she confront him and tell him that she knew? Should she just break things off with him? She really didn't want to…her train of thought didn't go far because there was a knock on the door.

She opened it and saw Clark. He was wearing the suit he had been wearing earlier; he also had a big bouquet of daffodils. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, she smiled back.

"How did you know?" Daffodils were Cassie's all time favourite flowers.

"Jimmy told me," She smiled as he handed them over. Cassie looked at them smiling and then back up at Clark.

She realised then that he did care about her and she didn't need to be told. If he didn't care he didn't have to come over, he certainly didn't need to bring flowers. He did care about her, and she knew she had to keep his secret, she wouldn't even tell him she knew.

"Would you like to come in? I can make some coffee or something," Clark smiled slowly to himself.

"I would love to but if you aren't feeling up to it…"

"Oh no I am feeling a lot better."

He smiled and then came in.


	8. Night at the Fair

A/N: Hey y'all I know I haven't updated in a long time and sorry for that but I am back now and I hope you enjoy my next chapter….gotta love that superman!

Chapter Eight

Cassie looked up at Clark who was standing beside her. The man behind the booth grudgingly handed over the stuffed animal to Cassie.

They had gone to a fair in the middle of the park in the centre of the city and Clark had just shattered ten milk bottles that had been carefully stacked. The man to begin with had even gone as far as showing them that the bottles weren't all glued together by wobbling the shaky structure.

He still looked confident that Clark wouldn't knock it over until Clark picked up the baseball and hurled it at the milk carton's that shattered instantly upon contact. The man hadn't believed it was possible openly admitting that the pitcher for the Yankee's wouldn't have been able to knock the bottles over, Clark had shrugged and the man handed over the pink fluffy rabbit. Cassie was beaming.

The dinner date with Richard and Lois kept being pushed back between Clark or Lois or Richard or Cassie caught with work, then Lois couldn't find a babysitter for Jason…it didn't seem to be able to come together.

Cassie had met Jason one day when she had dropped by at Clark's office. He was an adorable little boy with light brown scraggily hair that fell in his eyes. He had to be the brightest six year old Cassie had ever met.

Lois told her that Jason was a lot healthier then he had been in the past, it seemed that he had grown up very suddenly. Cassie had thought back on Jimmy's stories of when Lex Luther had kidnapped Jason and Lois and thought privately that that kind of experience would make a child grow up a lot faster then normal.

Something about the boy made Cassie take a double take though, she couldn't place it though, as if it was an un-findable conclusion that she would never reach but there was something familiar about the boy, in his slightest mannerisms. She shrugged it off as cuteness and forgot about it almost as suddenly as she had though it.

She looked at Clark; it was rare for her to see him not in a business suit of some sort. In fact this was the first time she had ever seen him in jeans. He was wearing a light jacket and a white tee shirt underneath. She was wearing a long jean skirt and white top with a black poncho over top.

She smiled at him, "Thank you!" She said brightly looking at her new stuffed animal.

"My pleasure, what you gonna call him?"

"Him? Clark, _she's_ pink!"

"Oh right sorry…" He smiled at her as they walked through the crowds.

"I dunno yet, I was thinking something along the lines of-

Clark stopped dead, it was a few steps before Cassie realised he wasn't walking beside her. She turned and saw him standing a few feet back. She was instantly by his side.

"Are you okay Clark?" She asked gently placing her hand on his arm and looking at him concern filling her face.

"Oh yeah, I just feel a head ache coming on… I am sorry Cassie but I have to go." He looked extremely apologetic but Cassie smiled sweetly at him.

"That is fine, if you aren't feeling well you should go home, I will call you later."

He studied her for a second, "You don't mind going home on your own?"

"No not at all, you go." He nodded and turned back to the parking lot, "Talk to you later," Cassie called after him.

He turned, smiled and waved, "Bye,"

"Bye," Cassie said brightly. She headed back into the heart of the fair; she wanted to grab another bag of cotton candy before she battled for a cab home. She didn't mind being abandoned at all, she knew there was a good reason for it all, and she never tried to put him in a position where he would feel guilty, it wasn't fair, Superman didn't belong to her alone, Superman belonged to the people.

Clark Kent on the other hand was all hers and all she really wanted, sometimes she wonder what it would be like for their dates not to be cut short for the need of-

"Superman! Up in the sky!" Cassie looked up and sure enough there he was flying over the fair heading into the city to either save someone or foil some bad guy's plans. Cassie smiled to herself as she paid for the Cotton Candy and headed home.

A/N: Yeah I know it is short and really it is just kind of a filler, anyway hope you liked it as short as it was. More is soon to follow.


	9. The Dinner Date Gone Wrong

Chapter Eight

Cassie launched her self from the cab feeling tears burning the backs of her eyes. That was all she needed right now was to burst into tears.

"Cassie! Cassie, come on!" She could hear Clark's muffled yells from inside of the cab. He was struggling to get the fifty out of his wallet for the driver and get out at the same time.

Cassie ran to the door of her building and went to walk through it but when she pushed it didn't open and she ended up walking smack into it. She felt tears well in her eyes.

'_No, no, you have to control yourself, it won't do anyone any good if you break down on the side walk_.' She started to look through her clutch purse, and she had thought it was tiny; well her keys were doing a fabulous job hiding.

She heard the cab door slam behind her and take off. She looked into the pane of glass in the door and could see Clark standing on the curb looking at her confused.

"Cassie," He said quietly. She turned on her heel to stare at him and everything she had felt that whole dreadful evening rushed back to her.

It had been the night of the dinner party with Richard and Lois, everything had been going fairly well until they actually sat down. In which Clark and Lois had taken over the entire conversation. Clark had stared at Lois as if she was the only other person in the universe and Cassie was positive she could feel her heart break sitting there at that overly polished dinning table.

She stared at him, the tears in her eyes were overpowering her line of sight. She turned away and took a few deep breaths and blinked furiously. How was she going to explain how useless she had felt without sounding self-centred? He would never understand.

"Cassie," She turned to see Clark had closed the gap between them considerably. "Come, on, what's wrong?"

She stared at him the hurt clearly visible in her eyes. "If you don't know why should I tell you?"

He seemed affronted by the answer, "I don't know what's the matter, the evening was fine, dinner was a little bland but other then that everything was…nice." Cassie, while Clark had been talking walked a few feet away from him but turned back when he was done speaking.

"Nice? Nice?"

He just stared at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Clark, was I even needed at that dinner?" She asked choking back the tears now. He stared at her for a few moments confusion clouding his face.

"What…what do you mean?"

Cassie let out a watery laugh, "Clark, you didn't look at me once during dinner, I wasn't asked one question, I felt like an inanimate object sitting there, like an idiot."

He walked over to her, "Cassie I am sorry, I didn't mean-

"Of course you didn't." She said rather snappily. She turned away from him a tidal wave of emotion taking over her. She opened her purse again in hopes of finding her keys. She finally found them and took them out of her purse. Clark was standing silently behind her. She turned and faced him, looked at the ground swallowed and then looked back at him. "Clark, look I… I really, really care about you, but, oh I don't know, maybe I am over thinking this or maybe I am blowing everything way out of proportion but you need to choose,"

"Choose," He said utterly confused by the comment.

Cassie wanted to stop, to forget what she was saying to run over to him and through her self in his arm but something stopped her. "Yes, just because Lois doesn't see it doesn't mean I don't, you need to choose, between me and her,"

"Cassie!" Burst Clark shocked by the statement she had just said.

"Clark!" He stopped at Cassie's tone, "I am tired and I just want to go to bed, … call me in the morning." With that she turned and unlocked her door and went into the building leaving Clark standing on the sidewalk his mind going a million miles a second.

* * *

Cassie slammed her door. Why had she done that? Why? She had just single handed-ly(sp?) ruined the best thing in her life. She sunk on to the floor of her apartment and the tears broke the barrier she had been fighting for her life to keep up. 

She briskly wiped the tears away from her face. She _hadn't_ blown things out of proportion and Clark _had_ been staring at Lois like someone madly in love.

She had felt like a fool and an idiot, Richard didn't look much happier, of course Lois hadn't even realised anything was amiss and by the looks of things Clark was unaware of anything other then Lois's brown eyes.

Cassie choked back a sob as her phone rang. "Hello?" She whimpered praying it wasn't Clark.

"Cassie…Cassandra Maria Kenton what on earth is the matter with you?"

"Oh mum…"

With that Cassie went into a long-winded explanation of the night and made sure she understood everything that had happened that night.

"Well sounds to me like you did the perfectly sensible thing, just because this Lois girl isn't smart enough to see what is right in front of her eyes doesn't mean you should ignore it."

"Yeah, but mum what if I have blown it with him, I really, really like Clark, I might even…."

"Don't say it, don't even think it, you will only jinx yourself."

"I think I already have mum."

"Look dear, if this Clark Kent has a brain in his head then he will forget about a lost cause and comecrawling back to you on his hands and knees begging for forgiveness."

Cassie sighed, it didn't get her very far but it made her feel a little better. "Do you really think he will come back?" She asked quietly, "I mean do you think he won't think 'ohthe hell withher."

"No dear, he sounds like a very intelligent young man, he will know how wonderful you are, anyone can see that. And hey if he does think that then he isn't worth the worry."

"Thanks mum,"

"My pleasure as always Baby-Doll."


	10. Clark's Train of Thought

Chapter Ten

Clark sat down heavily on the park bench and put his head in his hands.

It surprised him how easy it seemed to break things off with Cassie. She would be forever out of danger with being with him. There would be no more unspoken confusion between them, even though he found it strange that one hadn't appeared so far.

But something in him made him stop before grabbing his cell and calling her and telling her it wouldn't work out. Something kept him from making a rash decision.

'_Rash decision? It is the only practical one!_' He thought making himself stand up suddenly and pace along the side walk.

He had to protect her, no matter what. '_What if something happened to her because she knew_ _you_? _Then what? You could never live with yourself!' _

'_But…' _ But what if it was worth the risk, what if Cassie didn't care? What if she would love him in spite of everything he was…everything he had to be?

'_She has the right to an opinion in the matter!' _ He thought singularly turning and heading towards Cassie's apartment.

Only that wouldn't work because then he would have to divulge the truth to her.

He ran a hand through his hair. He remembered the hurt that had been in her eyes. He had wanted nothing more then to stop her pain and shelter her from it ever returning. But when he had realised it had been him, Clark, who had caused it his heart had nearly broken.

Lois had been his first love and meant a lot to him, she was Jason's mother.

Jason, there was another topic that he would eventually have to tackle with Cassie if he stayed with her. '_Oh by the way, I have an illegitimate son, but as far as everyone knows it is only Superman's son to the woman you think I love more.' _Yeah that would go down like a lead balloon.

But then a though hit him, did he really still love Lois? He wasn't really sure anymore. He had spent most of his life loving her wanting her to realise it was he Clark Kent who was the real Superman…but in the end she never did.

'_In the end she married someone else…' _He thought hopelessly.

He knew one thing for certain he couldn't walk away from Cassie, the very thought of it tore him to pieces, he couldn't, he cared about her too much.

He looked at his watch. It was getting late. He was supposed to be out saving the world from their daemons instead of battling his everyday ones. One thing he knew for certain was that he would rather face a million bank robbers, murders, and terrorists, then have to make the life altering decision awaiting him.

It would have to wait for the morning; he had to get home to feed Comet before he left for his '_job'. _


	11. A Day in the Park

Chapter Eleven

Cassie sat at her new desk in her very own office and looked around her self happily. Her boss had just given her an office of her very own. Before she had been in the middle of a larger room with three other girls' desks surrounding her.

She had put up pictures of her parents and sisters and nieces, and even her cats. She looked down at the envelope she had brought from home with pictures she had wanted to put up in her office there were still a few in it.

Cassie sank heavily into her chair behind her desk and reluctantly pulled out the pictures, dropping the empty envelope on the desk.

They were all different pictures of Clark and her. Cassie dropped them on her desk feeling the happy feeling that had been bursting in her chest wither and die. She felt tears swimming in her eyes. Every little thing seemed to set her off these days.

She hadn't heard from Clark in three days and was really starting to get worried. What if he had decided she wasn't worth it and didn't think she deserved telling? She grabbed her phone but half way through dialling his office number did she slam down the phone. She sank her head into her folded arms on her desk.

_When did life get this hard?_ Every time she heard Superman was in a dangerous situation her heart would constrict to a sickening extent until she couldn't breath and then when she heard he was going to be all right she felt her self relax but feel uncomfortable at the same time. She wanted nothing more then to call Clark and make sure he was really all right. Of course she could never be too obvious, or else he would know she knew his secret.

She got up and grabbed her coat and left her office. She had come in on a Saturday to organize her new office. She ran out of the three-story building glad to feel the sun on her face. She took a deep breath and walked across the street into the enormous park that was stationed across the road from her work.

As she dived into the shade of the park all she wanted was to forget all her stresses for one night, to sit down and read a book in which she could actually take in what she was reading.

"Cassie!" She turned and saw Clark running towards her. She assumed he had tried her office first only to find it closed for the weekend.

He stopped a few feet from her. She looked at him unsure how to act, happy to see him? Aloof? They hadn't covered it in her lengthy education.

"Clark…" Was all she managed, all the saliva in her mouth evaporating the second she opened her mouth.

"Cassie I have been meaning to call you for the past few days-

"Three," She said failing miserably to sound nonchalant.

"Yeah the past three days but things have been pretty hectic and to be frank I haven't known what to say."

Cassie stared at Clark her breath catching in her throat. What had she been expecting? Clark to drop to his knees and say he had never really loved Lois and all he ever wanted was her? Real life didn't work like that.

"Oh?" Was all she managed in a higher voice then she had originally intended, "And what made you know what to say?"

Clark looked at his feet, "I… I don't really know, I just never thought this would happen, I mean I really like you, and …."

He trailed off, Cassie found herself getting alarmingly mad. What? Was he expecting her to sweep him into a hug and say that it didn't matter? That he didn't have to make a decision right now? That _it was_ too hard? Well she wasn't going to, he would just have to choose where he wanted to or not.

"But then I thought," He continued, Cassie had crossed her arms and was giving him a hard look. "I thought what would life be without you," He looked Cassie in the eye and she felt every piece of anger she harboured or spite melt away from her as if it had never existed. "And the more I thought about it the more I hated the answer," He walked over until he was standing right in front of her and he took hold of both her arms. "I…I…" He seemed to be bracing himself for something Cassie stared at him. He took a deep breath, "I...I...I love you Cassandra, and nothing and nobody can ever change that."

Cassie stared up at Clark's towering form her mouth slightly open. She felt like a train had just hit her. Clark was getting slightly pink. "Uh…Cassie?" Clark whispered aware of the fact that an elderly group of people had stopped and were watching them avidly.

Cassie took her arms out of his grasp, for a few seconds Clark looked shocked and hurt, but quickly Cassie wrapped them around his neck. "Aw Clark," She whispered into his ear.

She could hear the elderly people giving a weary applause as if the whole scene was for their benefit. "I love you too," Cassie whispered.

A/N: Ah all the fluff is so…FLUFFY! Good stuff isn't it, now don't take that the wrong way, I mean Fluff in general not my fluff in particular! LOL! Anyway now I have that out the way I can finally start and tackle the actual event I have had in my mind since I saw the movie, hope you keep reading and aren't to turned off by all the fluff.


	12. Terror

Chapter Twelve

Cassie sat up in bed and looked around the room. It was so bright; the bed sheets were all blue, for some reason it made her smile to herself. She got up and looked around herself. Her clothes from the previous day were neatly folded on a chair in the corner of the bedroom.

She got up and pulled them on and left the room. It lead to an enormous great room involving a kitchen, that you had to go up two steps to enter, a living room, and a dining room, that was on step down from the living room.

Cassie yawned and stretched looking around herself.

"Morning," She turned to see Clark standing over the stove making scrambled eggs. She smiled at him.

"Morning," He was wearing a pair of loose jeans, a white t-shirt and he wasn't wearing his glasses. It didn't really startle Cassie because he obviously never wore his glasses when he was Superman so there wasn't any real need for him to wear them as Clark. Cassie walked over and into the kitchen and leaned on the island in which the stove was placed. "Mmm, breakfast smells good."

"Well, I am not much of a cook, but I can cook mean scrambled eggs." Cassie looked at Clark.

"'Mean'?"

"Too cheesy?" He asked looking at her.

"Just a little." Cassie said giggling.

Clark shrugged his large shoulders and picked up a fork and carefully scooped up some egg and held it out to Cassie.

"Try some," She took the fork and tried it, savoring the fluffy eggs, "So?"

She smiled at him, "They are completely and utterly perfect."

Clark smiled leaning on the counter, "Like you," Cassie went to laugh at the remark but she coughed instead nearly choking on a piece of egg. "Are you okay?" Clark asked instantly looking concerned.

Cassie gave him a smile as her eyes watered and nodded, Clark gave her a funny look as she blushed. "Let's…" She gasped trying to regain what little composure she had left. "Let's eat."

Clark nodded.

Cassie walked down the street savoring the feeling of walking on air. She had just got of work and was going to meet Clark at a little Greek restaurant. He loved her! He, Clark Kent, actually loved her, Cassie. It was too good to be true.

She walked into the Greek place and was shown to the table that Clark had reserved. But fifteen minutes after Clark should have been there he wasn't. Usually Cassie wouldn't have worried over a messily fifteen minutes, but Clark was like her, obsessive when it came to lateness. She looked out the window of the shop as if hoping to see him walking down the street but she didn't.

Cassie's cell phone rang and she dove under the table to retrieve it. She answered it instantly.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Cassie? It's Clark."

"Clark? Are you okay?" It sounded like he was running.

"Oh, yeah I am fine, it's just something is going on down town and Mr. White wants me there to cover the story." Clark said, he sounded like he was trying to be casual.

"Oh, yeah that is fine; I mean it is your job." Cassie said in what she hoped was a bright tone of voice.

"Are you sure?" Clark asked.

"Of course I am Clark, go."

"Kay, come over to my place tonight,"

"Look, call me when you are done and we will talk."

"Kay, love you." Cassie's breath caught in her throat when he said it and joy filled her.

"I love you too…be careful." But he had already hung up.

When Cassie hung up her phone she felt slightly deflated. The waiter came over to take her drink order. "Oh uh, I think I will take a rain check." Cassie said breathlessly, "I just want to go home."

The waiter nodded understandingly, and went to clear the table but as Cassie went to leave he stopped her. "Oh ma'am, don't take the subway there was a crash down there and every train has stopped."

Cassie nodded, "Right thanks." Cassie stepped out on to the sidewalk and looked up at the sky. It was black. The worst thing about the city was that she could never see the stars.

She hailed a cab and told the driver where her apartment was and he drove off. She was worried about Clark, hoping that he was alright. She knew it was an irrational fear. He was _Super_man but that didn't help, she could only think of him down there, presumably in the subway tunnel trapped. She shivered her old claustrophobia returning.

The cab pulled to a stop at a red light. "Can I open this window?" Cassie asked the driver slightly self conscious.

"Hey ma'am as long as the meter is running you can do the hula back there." Cassie nodded slightly bewildered by the answer and lowered her window as the cab took off again.

The cool air rushed over her face and she started to calm down again. She closed her eyes and leaned back, the cab stopped suddenly making her fall against her seat belt. "Sorry miss, just seems like I have no luck with the lights tonight."

Cassie nodded again and looked out the window. She could see a prostitute standing outside a seven eleven and a great swell of pity welled inside her chest.

"Tina?" Cassie looked at the driver surprised by the outburst.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"Not you…I know her. TINA!" Cassie jumped at the yell. The cab driver was leaning out his window. The prostitute looked at him, shock crossed her face, Cassie was surprised she could move it under all that make up, and then the girl pretended not to hear the driver unconvincingly. "_Tina what the hell are you doing_?" At this point the driver got out of the car.

"Excuse me!" Cassie said quietly, she had never been one for confrontation. "Excuse me I have to get…home." But the driver was already on the sidewalk asking the girl in a loud voice if her mother knew what she was doing.

Feeling defeated Cassie sat back and looked at the meter on the dashboard that was still running. It would have been faster to walk home at this pace, and cheaper. Cassie closed her eyes and leaned back again.

There was a loud moan that made her eyes open suddenly. It wasn't the car but the car did suddenly start to shudder very violently. There was another scraping moan and the front of the car disappeared in front of Cassie.

It took a few seconds for Cassie to understand what was going on. The street had collapsed under the front of the cab and it was now pointing into a subway tunnel. Cassie sat frozen for a few seconds until she was snapped out of her terrified trance by the shouts of the cab driver and the prostitute.

She blinked a few times before very slowly moving her hand over to her seat belt. The car moaned again and tipped even more. The back tires were defiantly off the ground at this point. Tears filled Cassie's eyes as her hand finally reached the seat belt buckle. Her fingers pressed the button and the seat belt was sucked back into the side of the car making it tilt even further forward.

In her heart Cassie knew the floor of the subway tunnel couldn't have been that far down but it seemed like she was falling into hell it's self. She hand moved to the handle of the door. She tried to concentrate on the cabbie and his friend Tina's encouraging words telling her to hurry but she quickly seemed to be loosing her grip on reality, white spots were appearing in front of her eyes.

Her hand clutched the door handle and pulled on it suddenly, the door swung open and she went to get out but that was it…

The car was falling for what felt like an eternity. The door slammed shut on the side of the hole. Cassie hit the back of the front seat as the front of the car hit the ground. She screamed as the car fell forward and she hit the roof of the car, which was now lying upside down.

She didn't want to move, she was terrified if she did the car would some how magically collapse around her. It seemed like lying on the roof of an old Bel-Air was going to be her last stop.

"Miss, grab my hand." She opened her eyes suddenly to see a hand sticking through the up side down car window. She followed the arm to the body to the head looking at her and her heart caught in the throat. It was Clark… or rather Superman.

She grabbed the hand and he pulled her in one swift motion out of the car. He helped her to her feet and she looked up at him. He seemed much taller some how, and his hair was different. He was studying her very closely.

"Good no broken bones, how about we get out of here." Cassie nodded for lack of anything to say. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and one under her knees and they both floated up to the street. The dropped a couple of centimetre's as he landed and carefully put her on to the street.

"Hope you have better cab rides in the future miss." He gave her a big smile and went to fly away. Cassie found her self holding his arm not letting him take off.

For the first time she looked him directly in the eyes. His brow furrowed slightly looking at her, "Please, be careful." She whispered to him. He stared down at her as if trying to understand what she was talking about before nodding.

"I will be…" He trailed off as if unsure of how to end the sentence.

'_I know_!' Cassie screamed in her head, '_I know it's you Clark._'

Superman landed heavily in front of her, "What did you say?" He asked looking unnerved.

"Be careful." She repeated slowly.

"No after that."

"I didn't say anything." Cassie said holding his gaze.

"SUPERMAN!" They both looked down the road to see the flood of reporters running at them. Cassie looked back at Superman but he was gone. Reporters banged into her not caring if they knocked her over still running down the street.

Cassie stood routed to the spot for a few seconds before turning and running home.


	13. Fall Out

Chapter Thirteen

Cassie sat in her armchair not moving as if afraid of shattering if she did. The door of her apartment burst open and she saw Clark walk in and stop when he saw her.

"How long have you known?" He asked hoarsely.

"Known what?" Cassie asked standing and moving over to him. He looked scared, really scared, more scared then Cassie had ever seen him. He ran into buildings that were about to collapse, faced dangerous insane people everyday, risked his life, and now he looked scared.

"Don't!" He said rather harshly. His tone made Cassie jump.

"Clark, what's…?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about Cassie. I know you know you said so on the street."

Cassie wanted nothing more to say she knew what he was talking about but she wouldn't let her self, she was afraid of the consequences if she did. "Clark I don't know what you are talking-

"Yes you do! I heard you! I heard you on the street, it was… it was like you were in my head!" Clark was yelling now but that didn't make Cassie back down. Clark stood staring at her before sighing and looking around the apartment as if looking for something to distract him, when nothing did he looked back at Cassie, "How long have you known I was Superman." He asked quietly.

Cassie considered pretending to not know what he was talking about but it seemed pointless at this point. "Since the first time I cancelled our dinner with Lois and Richard." Cassie said in no more then a whisper.

Clark looked at her and his whole body seemed to sag as if under some enormous weight. "How?" He asked quietly.

Cassie was looking at the floor, she felt like a little girl who had been caught doing something bad, "I saw you on the news,"

"And you recognized me?" He actually sounded surprised. Cassie looked at him.

"Come on Clark, it isn't that good a disguise." He looked at her and gave a half smile.

"No one noticed in the past." Clark sighed and leaned on the back of her couch and looked at the floor. Cassie watched him slightly scared of what he was going to do. "I am sorry Cassie," He said quietly.

Cassie stared at him, "Sorry? Sorry for what?" She asked.

Clark looked at her, he looked sad. He stood up. "We can't see each other any more." He went for the door but Cassie moved quicker grabbing his arm and making him turn and face her.

"What? No!" She said staring up into his blue eyes.

"You don't understand Cassie; I can't be seen with you it is too dangerous." Cassie stared at him.

"I don't think so considering I am the only one who knows." She said suddenly breathlessly.

Clark looked at the ground took a deep breath and held Cassie by the arms, "I can't take that risk, I won't gamble with your life."

Cassie stared at him, "It's my life, I think I can decide what is dangerous and what isn't, nothing has happened to me so far."

"Cassie," Clark's hands dropped away from her arms, He turned around and started pacing around the apartment, he looked frustrated, "That isn't the point, if anyone, if one of my enemies found out who I was and that I loved you, you would be a target."

Cassie crossed her arms getting upset, "But you would be there to save me." She said simply.

"What if I am not, what if I can't? You would be gone and it would be my fault." He stared at her as if drilling into her very soul.

Cassie walked over to him and stood in front of him she put both her hands on either sides of his face, "I fell in love with you Clark, not Superman, and you are all I want and I will be damned if I am going to let you take…yourself away if that makes sense."

Clark smiled down at her. He took her into a strong hug. She wrapped her arms around him clutching his tee shirt.

"I am sorry," He whispered before letting her go and walking swiftly from the apartment.

Cassie turned and ran after him, tears filling her eyes. She stopped at the end of the hall and saw him about to disappear into the stairwell.

"Please, Clark, please don't do this." She asked him quietly. He stopped with his hand on the door handle. He turned and looked at her.

"This is the only way Cassie," He said a sad look in his eye.

Cassie walked over to him and bit her lip unsure of what to say next, "Clark, something happened to me on the street, I didn't say those words out loud…." She looked him square in the eye, "I need you now more then ever,"

She took a step closer and he looked at her with an unsure look in his eyes, it was as if he was afraid to break her, like she was some delicate china ornament.

"If anything happened to you…"

"Clark," She interrupted, placing a hand gently on his cheek, "I would rather spend a day with you in mortal danger then an eternity in perfect safety. I have known for a long time and I could have walked away but I didn't, doesn't that count for something." He stared at her as if unsure of what to do next. "Please Clark, please don't break my heart."

He looked at her for a few seconds before engulfing her in a hug. "I am sorry Cassie,"

"Don't be, it isn't your fault." Cassie whispered into his chest, "Just known that I am here beside you."


	14. The Trap

A/N: I know it has been forever since I last updated and sorry about that, but I am updating now. Enjoy….

Chapter Fourteen

Cassie sat on the couch of her apartment quietly watching TV thinking over everything that had happened.

She had coaxed Clark back into her apartment and they had sat down agreeing to tell each other everything. Cassie wasn't prepared for what she heard.

Clark had gone home, after the long tiring conversation. Cassie looked at the clock; it was four in the morning. She shoved herself off the couch and walked around her living room trying to find something to make everything make sense.

Why did she feel like this? She had no right too.

Sank to the floor at the foot of her bed and felt tears in her eyes. Why did she feel like this? It was ridiculous? She had learned that Clark and Lois…or rather Superman and Lois had indeed loved each other.

But a son…

Cassie choked on a sob, she felt scared, abandoned, angry, yet she couldn't justify any of these feelings. That was a lie.

She was scared because if it came down to it would Clark choose Cassie or Lois, the mother of his child. She felt abandoned because she knew she would never mean as much as Lois did to Clark and she was angry because Clark couldn't be a normal father to his son.

One of her cats meowed and lay down beside her. She stood up and went over to the phone, she picked it up and was about to dial her mothers number, she needed to get out of the city, to think but the TV distracted her.

"_I am not sure Brian, but from our reports Superman is being held in the top floor of this building._" She stared at the reporter from the twenty four hour news channel. "_Yes, yes, it has just been confirmed that crazed career criminal Lex Luther has re-immerged claiming to have Superman held hostage._"

Cassie fell to the ground panic clutching her chest. This wasn't possible, she had just seen Clark, and he had just been in her apartment.

Something inside her gripped her very soul. She got up and grabbed her overcoat and left the apartment quickly. She recognized the building; her firm had just finished work on it. She ran into the elevator and pushed the button to the lobby.

The elevator moved unbelievably slowly. She threw herself out of it when it reached the ground floor. She ran out into the street. She could vaguely feel rain drops on her cheeks, she ignored them and ran down the steps of her building and threw herself into the first cab she saw.

"Fifth please."

"Fifth, lady are you crazy? It may be four but it is jumping over there what with the news crews and all,"

"Look just get me as close as you can," The man nodded sceptically and drove on.

She had no idea why she was going there or what her plan was but she had to get there. She had to be sure…

"That is as far as I am willing to go, I ain't pulling a three point turn with all these people around," The man said rather savagely. Cassie threw the money she had on her at the front seat and got out of the cab.

She weaved her way through all the people to the police barrier. The police were trying to hold the people and reporters from getting near the building but occasionally an over ambitious reporter or strange person wearing a Superman t-shirt would get through the barrier and dash the building.

Suddenly Cassie felt a pain in her right temple.

'_Quickly the guards can't see you,_' a voice screamed in her head. She had no idea where the voice was coming from but she trusted it and ran. The building didn't seem to be getting any closer until she actually broke through the door.

The lobby was empty. Cassie ran over to the elevators as if a mysterious force was pulling her guiding her through the building. Just before she got in for some reason she turned and saw Lois Lane being restrained by the police, for some reason it made her smile to her self.

For once in her life Cassie felt no fear, no intimidation. She knew she was meant to be there. Her wet jacket clung to her skin. She shed the uncomfortable garment and shivered as a cold breeze bit into her skin only shielded by her nightie. She could see her self reflected in the doors of the elevator, she was standing there, hair soaked, wearing her baby doll style white nightie about to face Lex Luther.

The doors opened and she looked into the darkness that flooded her. She couldn't see a thing. She took a step until the doors closed on the elevator leaving her in complete darkness. A sense of foreboding clutched her just before a large beefy hand wrapped around her neck.

She let out a stifled scream as the hand tightened its grip. Her feet left the ground, she couldn't breath.

"I didn't think you were actually stupid enough to come, mind you I tend to give people more credit then they are worth." The voice pierced the darkness suddenly. Lights switched on and Cassie's eyes were blinded.

Everything in the room was painted white, there was no furniture, just a couple of enormous wooden crates and a couple of burly men and then there was Lex. He was standing across the floor from them in a white suit, his horrible bald head reflecting everything in the room.

His eyes took Cassie in quickly, "Why, you aren't Lois Lane," He said methodically walking over to stand in front of Cassie. He looked her up and down, "No you are more…angelic. 'Bout time the old clout moved on you know, what with Lois with that other fellow now, and a son and everything, myself, I like to get rid of my women before they get the chance to." He smiled at Cassie and patted her cheek. "That's enough Bruno; I doubt Superman will save a corpse."

The man let go of Cassie, she fell to a heap on the ground gasping and splutter for air. The man bent down and grabbed a hold of her upper arm and hauled her into a standing position.

She tried to take in her surroundings a little more. There were five men; they were all wearing white suites, shaved heads, extremely muscular and all looking like they couldn't add two and two. There was another man in the room Cassie just notice, he was short and his suit was rather grey. He had curly grey hair and a moustache and looked rather crazy.

She looked back at Luther; she couldn't believe that she had just walked into a trap.

"Max, fix the elevator, we don't want police or a certain reporter getting in our way." Luther walked further into the room. The man holding her, Bruno, followed him practically dragging Cassie behind him until she got her feet underneath her.

It occurred to her that the trap was meant for Lois. It was a funny feeling knowing that she was there instead. She couldn't let Clark walk into this because she was stupid enough to walk into it. An idea hit her, it was a long shot but it was worth a shot.

"Don't come Superman," She screamed. Bruno quickly covered her mouth as Luther spun on his heel to glare at her. He quickly marched over to stand in front of her struggling form.

"Very silly, because now he knows you're in trouble, and oh, he'll come." He snarled.


	15. Luther's Plan

Chapter Fifteen

"You know, for a criminal mastermind you are pretty stupid." Cassie spat at Luther. She was sitting in a metal chair with her hands and ankles handcuffed to the legs and arms of the chairs.

Luther turned and faced her with an intrigued look on his face, "Oh really, how do you figure?"

"Well after all the things you have tried to defeat Superman I would have thought anyone in their right mind would just give up and bow out gracefully, instead of clinging pathetically to the dream that one day they will succeed." It looked like the vein in Luther's head was going to pop.

He suddenly charged the chair Cassie was sitting in. He put his hands on each other the arm rests. Cassie threw her self against the back of the chair trying with all her might not to touch the foul man. He put his face very close to hers.

"Say what you will, but I wasn't the one who walked into a trap." He stood up and surveyed her again, "Who are you anyway?"

"None of your damn business," She spat at him her voice dripping with contempt. There was a loud bang and the building shuddered. "Oh no," Cassie whispered to herself, she knew what the sound meant.

"Oh yes," Luther said gleefully. "Max, get the guns," The brute that had dismantled the elevator doors walked swiftly over to the crates. "You help him Dr. Von Baron," Cassie watched the man with the wild hair go over to the crates and help remove semi automatic rifles.

"Guns?" Cassie laughed thoroughly amused, "That is your big plan, guns?"

She was distracted when the doors of the elevator were forced open. Superman walked into the room. He surveyed the room with a cool confidence that Cassie had never known in Clark, for some unexplainable reason it made her sad.

"Hello Lex, aren't you supposed to be on a hellish island somewhere?" Superman asked smiling slightly. Lex looked at Superman for once his confidence faltering.

"Ah ha, ha, ha, and a comedian, _is there anything you don't do_?" The last part of the statement he snarled. Cassie jumped at his voice. Superman's eyes fell on her.

"Now Lex, I don't know what you are angling at by kidnapping this lovely young woman for no apparent reason…" He shook his head sadly.

Lex looked furious. He stood in front of Cassie staring at Superman. "Bruno, the 9 millimetre,"

Superman smiled slightly, "I would have thought you would have learned by now Lex,"

Lex lifted the gun and aimed it at Superman's chest, "Oh don't worry I have." The gunshot echoed around the room, Cassie jumped at the sound, she looked back at Superman not worried but the look on his face changed her feelings quickly.

He looked…surprised. "No," Cassie whispered she looked at Luther, he was smiling calmly.

"You know, it took me a while to figure this out you know, I tried killing you normally, heck I tried enlisting the help of other people from outer space, I even created an island made of kryptonite substance and none of that seemed to affect you all that much. But then I thought of the time when I stabbed you, remember, with the kryptonite."

Cassie looked back at Superman. He was staggering slightly. Luther continued to talk, "I remember the fear in your face, the satisfaction of you suffering, so I thought why not just go bigger."

Luther kicked a smaller wooden box that was by his feet. Bullets littered the floor. Cassie looked at them and was shocked to see that they were green. It all came to her; she started struggled against her bonds.

"No!" She screamed. Cassie looked back at Superman he was pale and positively swaying on the spot. "No,"

"Oh yes, I may not know who you are but you are bright, I will grant you that much." Luther said laughing. He walked over to one of the crates and picked up a big rifle, he loaded it and pointed it at the staggering Superman.

"I won't let you hurt him!" Cassie screamed tears filling her eyes. She looked at Superman.

"Oh yeah? Watch me!" Luther said crazily starting to laugh. He fired the gun three times, each time the bullet penetrated Clark's chest with a small spurt of blood. He started to scream, it was the worse sound Cassie had ever heard.

Clark fell to his knee's blood staining the front of his suit grotesquely.

"NO! STOP!" Cassie screamed.

"Oh…or what? You gonna cry me to death…..ahahahahahahahaha! Sorry no dice!" Luther spouted grabbing a machine gun out of the hands of one of his men's hands.

Cassie was shaking uncontrollably. A pain had been throbbing in her temple all night and it was steadily getting worse but she barely noticed it all she could see was Clark, kneeling there, suffering because of her. She couldn't let him die. She could hear the thunder outside and see the lightning in the skylgith.

"Good bye Superman!" Luther roared.

"No more…" Cassie whispered, her voice was quiet, she was looking at Clark, he looked her in the eye, his eyes were filled with tears. It was like some uncontrollable force was pulling at her body, trying to make her understand, she couldn't fight it any longer.

"What was that dear?" Luther asked laughing not taking his eyes off Superman.

Cassie gave Clark a small smile and gave into the force, she would save him…

_BOOM_


	16. After the Battle

_Lay down  
Your sweet and weary head  
Night is falling  
You've come to journey's end  
Sleep now  
And dream of the ones who came before  
They are calling  
From across the distant shore _

Why do you weep?  
What are these tears upon your face?  
Soon you will see  
All of your fears will pass away  
Safe in my arms  
You're only sleeping

_  
And you'll be here in my arms  
Just sleeping_

_-Annie Lennox, Into the West_

Chapter Sixteen

Cassie could see it but it seemed no one else could. A wave of light issued from her body it washed over all the men but stopped before it hit Clark. It just halted a wall of blinding light.

Her bonds melted away from her wrists. The machine gun fire issued around the room. As every bullet hit the wave it disintegrated into tiny little pieces which vanished. Cassie could see it as if it was going in slow motion. She raised her self from her chair and started to walk over to Clark methodically, something else was guiding her body.

She could hear the yells of Luther's men but paid them no attention. She heard more gun fire and felt a burning sensation in her back but ignored it, it was superfluous now. She walked through the wall of light and it warmed her to the core.

She gently knelt in front of Clark his lip was quivering. She put both hands on the sides of his face made him look her in the eye.

"I am sorry," She whispered to him, "I love you," With that another blast of light emitted from her body.

It washed over Clark's body and wrapped it's self around them like a cocoon. His eyes closed. Cassie closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. He gasped and she could feel real pain.

She pulled back and looked at him. His eyes were open and he was looking at her. "Cassie?" He asked quietly. She smiled weakly and fell backwards landing hard on the floor on her back.

He moved to kneel beside her. "What happened?" He whispered to his hands hovering over her body.

"I saved you…" She whispered. Another blast issued from her body, only this time it wasn't gentle and white, it was cruel and black. It washed over Clark without harm.

Cassie could hear screams and blasts, everything went blurry and then just darkness….

Clark's eyes fluttered open. He coughed. He was covered in the dust of the wrecked building. He pushed himself up with his arms. He looked around himself. He was in the middle of an enormous crater. He pushed him self up until he was resting on his heels.

He could see the corpses of Luther's men scattered around him. He looked down at his own battered body. There were small circular tears around in his suit were the bullet's had entered his body. He traced his fingers over the healed flesh. There was no mark.

The rain was falling heavily around him; He looked up at the thing that was lighting the eerie scene. He could hear distant yells of people, people screaming his name.

The light was about twenty feet from the ground. He pushed himself up to look at it. Something inside of him wavered, he was scared.

He gently kicked off the ground and felt himself rise. The fear turned to dread.

He was level with the light now and could see what it was.

"No…" He whispered. He could vaguely hear the people running to get closer, yelling his name.

He reached out and his hand was drenched in the heat of the light, he tenderly touched Cassie's cheek and no matter how hot the light was her skin was as cold as ice. His hand went into her hair; tears were flooding his eyes. Why didn't she wake up?

Suddenly the light went out and he could feel her body shift in space. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist as she fell. Her upper body hung over his arm limply and her legs dangled beneath them uselessly. For the first time Clark could see her torso.

His hand played over her stomach and felt the once warm blood mingle with his fingers. The bullet holes that had once been in his body were now in hers.

"NO!" He found himself scream. He could sense that the people under the scene stiffen and stop yelling.

He as going higher and higher into the sky. He couldn't save her this time, he knew it, and he couldn't leave her behind to try. She was gone, her body was cold….but it couldn't be…she couldn't leave him.

He flew off he couldn't stay in the city any longer it seemed to be collapsing around him. He put an arm around her shoulders and one under her legs and flew faster.

All he was aware of was her cold body pressed against his chest.


	17. Explainations

Chapter Seventeen

Her eyes slowly opened to see glowing green stars swirl in front of them. She could focus on a bright red one. She felt like that little star, it was all alone in a sea of things different from itself.

She sat up and could feel her hair hit her back slowly. Her hand went to her ribs and she could feel the coarse bandages._ They had been made in a hurry…_

She slowly unravelled them and could feel her skin tingle under her touch. She looked down at her body feeling strangely detached from it. She was in her white bra and a pair of grey sweat pants that were about ten times to big for her. A tiny smile crossed her lips in spite of herself.

It was funny to know that she was different, because she was. She had always known it deep down but now those secret parts of herself had risen to the surface in a flurry of pain and terror and… _love_.

Yes, there had defiantly been love, and a lot. She moved to the edge of the bed and let her feet slowly touch the floor. It was wooden and cold beneath her bare feet. She slowly stood up and stayed in the same position for a while feeling a little wobbly. She moved across the room and felt a plush bathrobe under her fingertips, it was slung over an arm chair in the corner of the room.

As she shrugged it on she looked around the room she inhabited. It was a boy's room, not often used. There were a lot of different books in it. Comics, science text, books about space, and writing. She walked over to the book shelf and ran her fingers over the book spines; they all had been read many times over. She eventually came to a photo. It was a happy scene of a family. A father, a mother and a son.

The son was smiling brightly with big eyes hidden behind a pair of thick black glasses. She smiled to herself as her fingers traced over the glass that separated her fingers from the boy. She looked at the man in the photo, _He is gone, _and she thought suddenly, _He is missed. _

She quickly put the photo down as a strange sensation came over her. The thought had graced her mind as if someone had written it there suddenly. That had never happened to her before and it frightened her.

Suddenly she realised something, she wanted to see Clark, she need him very badly. Cassandra moved across the room and grabbed the brass door knob and wrenched open the door with every intention of running from the room but stopped in the door way.

She stopped realising she had no recollection of where she was. She slowly moved into the hall. It was clattered with pictures covering the walls. She walked down the hall taking each of them in.

Eventually Cassandra came to a flight of stairs, she walked down them slowly coming to a halt in an entrance way. She looked around herself. Something beckoned her to her left. She followed the feeling and went that way suddenly finding herself in a very welcoming kitchen.

There was an older woman standing at the sink washing dishes. She turned when Cassandra was in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Well hello my dear, you don't know how good it is to see you up and about." She said brightly smiling at Cassandra.

"How…how long have I been…" Cassandra didn't know how to finish the sentence because one thing she knew was that she hadn't been sleeping.

"Three weeks now," The woman said still smiling reassuringly. Cassandra studied her face, she was the woman from the pictures. Cassandra moved further into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table.

She looked at the woman, there were so many questions she wanted to ask but one came to the forefront of her mind, "Where's Clark?" For some reason this question passed from her in a gravely tired voice.

"He left this morning on a trip," The woman said nodding, "He was very worried about you,"

Cassandra nodded and licked her lips and found tears in her eyes, "He is alright?" She asked looking back at the woman.

"Yes, he's fine; all thanks to you my dear." The woman came over and placed a hand on Cassandra's shoulder.

Cassandra shook her head, "No I didn't…" But then that wasn't true, she had done something but she couldn't remember what, the last thing she remembered was wanting nothing more then to help Clark.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up a little for when Clark comes home, he will be glad to see you are awake." Cassandra nodded at the woman's words and followed her obligingly back upstairs.

* * *

Cassandra sat on the front porch of the Clark home looking out over the field at the setting sun. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. She had bathed and felt a lot more like her old self but yet still strangely unused to her skin. She was wearing an old dress of Martha's. It was white and had a full skirt that ended at Cassandra's knees and a halter like top, Martha said she had worn it in the summer time in the muggy heat and that it looked very pretty on Cassie. She had pulled her hair back into a bun

Martha had called Cassandra _Cassie_. It had been strange to hear herself be called that again. It was silly, she had only been unconscious for a few weeks yet she felt totally detached from her life before…the…event? She didn't even know what to call it.

"Cassie," Cassandra stood up and saw Clark standing at the side of the house looking at her.

"Hi Clark," She said quietly. He walked over her to in all of five strides and enveloped her into a powerful yet gentle hug. Cassie wrapped her arms around him and let her forehead rest on his shoulder.

"I thought I had lost you," He whispered in her ear. She shook her head unable to speak her emotions taking full control of her, she was just so thankful to have Clark back in her arms.

* * *

"Did you find out what you needed to know?" Cassie asked him after a few minutes they were both sitting on the porch together hand in hand.

Clark nodded, "Yes," Cassie looked at the gravel at their feet.

"And was it about me?" She asked slowly looking at him again.

"This isn't going to make a lot of sense right now but I found out from my real father." He said looking her in the eye.

Cassandra stared at him , "You are right, that doesn't make a lot of sense."

Clark smiled, "I will explain it to you later but in short for right now, I am not from this world. And with me my real father sent me documents of my people's knowledge and research." Cassie watched him intently trying to take in what he was saying. "I found chronicles of another people's existence in deep space. To my fathers people they were only rumoured about by burnt out explores and doubted to be true but my father must have thought there was something to it to chronicle it." Clark stopped and looked at Cassie, "These explores, they rumoured about a race that was so perfect that they couldn't even bee looked upon by any lesser race without going blind. They were referred to as Angels."

Cassie looked at Clark, "You think I am an-

"No," He said smiling at her, "Though I may think you are perfect, you aren't _that_ perfect." Cassie smiled at him, "No, it is said at least, that one Angel was banished for loving someone." Cassie watched him.

"That's dreadful," She said quietly.

"Well love is a useless emotion supposedly; it defies logic, which my father suspected governed these Angels society. To them it must have been like a disease." Clark shrugged looking at the quickly setting sun, "So she was banished."

"She? For something that is only rumour you sure know a lot about it," Cassie said. Clark looked at her and shrugged.

"My father must have thought it important for me to know,"

Cassie nodded. "Sorry to interrupt, please go on," He nodded.

"Well anyway, all thought or story of her is lost but supposedly she fell to earth and had a baby, and then that baby had another two babies." Clark shrugged, "By this time the bloodline would be so watered down from being on earth and mating with humans that the powers would be practically unnoticed, until the moment came when this, this woman needed to use them in pure desperation, out of pure instinct."

Cassie looked at Clark, "So you think I am the granddaughter of this…this exiled Angel?"

Clark shrugged. "Anything is possible Cassie,"

Cassie looked out over the field before looking back at Clark, "You said, two babies, I am not the only one?"

"Well," Clark shrugged, "My father came up with the specific number two some how, I am not sure how but he did. Did you have a sister?"

Cassie shook her head. "No, I was adopted."

Clark smiled and said, "A lot of that going around in our generation huh?" Cassie smiled.

"Yeah we could defiantly be known as Generation X." Cassie said quietly resting her forehead on Clark's shoulder. "Does this mean I will never be normal again?" She asked childishly.

"I am certain we can rule that out at this point." Clark said kissing Cassie on the top of the head.

She looked up at him, "At least you aren't alone anymore." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Yeah, you are right there,"

Cassie looked out over the field again. The sun had fully set and the sky was a navy blue but the stars shone brighter then ever.

"I have to find my sister or brother then."

"Sister," Clark corrected. Cassie looked at him.

"How are you so sure?" She asked curiously.

"Angels, even the water down ones, have to be female."

"How do they...we, I suppose, how do we procreate then?" She asked confused.

Clark shrugged, "Well in the original race, not you of course, used Immaculate Conception."

Cassie sniggered unable to stop herself, "Interesting," She said looking at Clark. And nodded, "Well then I have to find my sister,"

Clark looked at her, "_We_ have to find your sister."

Cassie smiled at him tears in her eyes. "I am glad you are here with me Clark,"

"I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world."

The End

A/N: I am very sorry that it took so long to finish this story and a sequel will defiantly be coming, so PM me with more questions. Have a good one! -touchnotthecat


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